1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an application operation simulation device for performing a simulation of an application operation that uses a robot equipped with a spray device provided with at least one nozzles to move the spray device based on a working program and apply an injected material injected from the nozzles to an applied member while indicating a three-dimensional model of the robot and a three-dimensional model of the applied member at the same time on screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a robot is taught for an operation, an offline simulation is typically used. In an offline simulation device, only the operation of the robot is simulated. However, in the case of processing operations and the like using the robot, it is desired that a result of processing is also simulated.
One of the processing operations described above is an application operation in which a spray device of the robot injects an injected material. The simulation device for this application operation is widely used when paint is injected as an injected material. This simulation calculates an area to which the paint is applied and a film thickness of the paint to color-code the result on a three-dimensional model of a workpiece. Further, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-160313, also when a mold-releasing agent as the injected material is injected into a die-casting die, the application operation simulation device may be used.
However, when the mold-releasing agent is injected into the die-casting die, it is difficult to use the simulation device for the following reasons.
First, when the mold-releasing agent is injected as injected material into the die-casting die, the mold-releasing agent does not adhere to the die and, consequently, in contrast to the case of the paint, it is not necessary to evaluate the thickness of the applied die-molding agent. In addition, in view of cooling the die, when the mold-releasing agent is injected into the die-casting die, when the mold-releasing agent is applied time is required. However, the typical application operation simulation device cannot calculate the application time.
Second, when the paint is injected as injected material it is assumed that the spray device is provided with only one nozzle. In contrast to this, the spray device that injects the mold-releasing agent as injected material into the die-casting die typically comprises a plurality of nozzles and, as a result, it is difficult to simulate the case in which the mold-releasing agent is injected from the plurality of nozzles.
The present invention has been made in light of these circumstances and an object of the present invention is to provide an application operation simulation device that can accommodate a spray device provided with a plurality of nozzles and that can calculate time when a mold-releasing agent is applied as an injected material.